Sunday, December 5, 2010

This car is a stunning and totally unique one-off that subscribes loosely to the 356 Outlaw philosophy. Based on a 914-6 chassis, this car has been fitted with a mid-mounted 3-litre 911 engine with Weber carburetors, as well as a 915 5-speed gearbox. It was built by Australian Jeff Dutton in 1992. The body is based on a 356 Continental from 1955, and is recognizably such up to the B-pillar. The roof has been chopped several inches, as is fairly standard for an `Outlaw`, but thanks to the mid engine placement and 914-6 chassis, the wheelbase is longer than that of a 356. Consequently, the car displays a dramatic and striking `fastback` rear treatment, which is beautifully set off by a number of very neat and extraordinary details. The philosophy throughout the car is one of lightness and strength, and much of the car is structurally composed of a tube frame. There is an integral roll bar, which is in keeping with the general interior aesthetic of Spartan functionality. read more @ www.fantasyjunction.com

Believe It:This happens in developed countries such as: Denmark and Japan. Every single year.

You would think that the first world countries in Europe such as Denmark would never succumbed itself to i killing dolphins and whales just because its a tradition? How barbaric are these people? Well lets just say that upon my research of this infamous tradition, I stumbled upon tons of sites that tackles this horrible massacre of the whales and dolphins, and take note “WITH PICTURES” (Read: horrible graphics). When I first saw the pics I thought it was a hoax but upon reading articles about it on credible news sites, I can’t believe my eyes that this barbarism is happening in another country, which is far more progressive compared to ours. I, one time shed a tear upon looking at the pics because it was really horrible. The people look on, saying nothing, as if it was some kind of entertainment or a circus to behold on to. The worst, there were children everywhere. I previously wrote about a series here in Brother Sun, Sister Moon which featured extinct animals caused by mans’ slaughtering and hunting. Well I guess it won’t be long till the pilot whales of Faroe Island would be seen only in pages of books.

The fishermen in villages like Taiji, go out in small boats to known dolphin migratory routes. Positioning their boats strategically, they space out to form a line and wait for the dolphins. When the dolphins arrive, the fishermen drop long metal pipes into the water, and by banging on the pipes they create a wall of sound. The sound interferes with the dolphins' ability to navigate - it disorients and panics them. The dolphins swim away from the sound, and the fisherman maneuver their boats herding them into a small shallow bay. Once in the bay, nets are drawn across the mouth of the bay to keep them penned in.The fishermen usually injure a few of the captive dolphins with a spear thrust or a knife slash - dolphins will not abandon these wounded family members.

Trapped in the shallow water, the dolphins mill about trying to stay as far from land as possible until the next morning. In the morning, the fishermen draw the nets in, forcing the dolphins closer to shore where they kill them by stabbing and slashing them with knives and hooks. The dolphins thrash about for as long as six minutes each as they slowly bleed to death, turning the sea literally red with their blood.

After the massacre, the bodies of the dolphins are taken to a slaughter house to be butchered. The meat is severely contaminated but is sold without warnings in supermarkets in Japan - supermarkets often owned by US and European chains.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, by Franco Scaglione - 1967(...many consider to be one of the most beautiful designs ever.)

Continuing the string of enchanting designer bodies for Alfa Romeo in the 1950s and 1960s (see the Pininfarina custom body for Alfa Romeo 33, for example - revealed at Paris show in 1969 and discussed in our previous article), Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale ("Street") is another curvaceous beauty, as desirable as it is rare.

The street version of the Alfa-Romeo Tipo 33 racing car was designed by Franco Scaglione, a major talent who just left Bertone studio, and went free-lancing... apparently losing none of his master touch.

The first production vehicle to have "butterfly" doors, the first mid-engined Alfa Romeo road car appeared at Milan Motorshow in 1967. Its voluptuous, nicely proportioned shape many consider to be one of the most beautiful designs ever.

On a racing track the car was intended to lock horns with Ferrari (that was promoting its own famous Dino 206S back then) and with a line of 910s from Porsche. The 33 model performance was called "unprecendented": indeed, considering it went from 0 to 60mph in just 6 seconds - and could reach maximum speed of 162 mph (260 km/hr) - making it a true supercar at the time! Perhaps even better than Ferrari Daytona...

Only 18 such cars have been built, mostly due to their astronomical price. Some versions had entirely different front-end styling.The 33 Series Alfa-Romeo chassis proved to be attractive to numerous stylists, among them Bertone, Pininfarina, and Ital Design from 1968 to 1976. In the next articles we'll try to cover these rarities as well.

"Muscular, aggressive and sensual, the 33 Stradale was magnificently sculpted"